


Internet Friends

by imafox



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Internet, Internet Friends AU, M/M, SO, Social Anxiety, but its mihashi, first fic ive posted tho, not the first ive written, omg, possible, this is lame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-17 08:50:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3523064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imafox/pseuds/imafox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thats when the distance started to feel painful. Every mile away from Mihashi tore him apart. Every step to school felt painful. During every skype call he had to make sure to hold back tears. Or hold back the urge to fly all the way to where Mihashi was just to hear the small puffs of breath, not through a crappy laptop speaker but right in front of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Abe, going through his second year of high school, figured out something that took many years to realize. He came to the realization that he didn't have friends.

Abe obviously had friends. He had someone to sit with at lunch and people to go out to the movies with but he realized that they werent really his friends. They sorta just dealt with him. They didn't exactly want him with them they just dealt with him. Sometimes forgetting he was with them, excluding him out of conversations or not inviting him out with the rest of the group and that is when he decided to break it off. It wasn't that hard. He just sat at a different table, alone, and if any of them noticed, they didn't say anything. Although it hurt to break them off and be alone for some time, he knew it would be better. So he did.

Abe’s days after that were quite. His old friends never bothered approaching him, and Abe wasn't sure if that made him happy or not. Seeing them round corners laughing and telling jokes made something in him ache. He never bothered to address it though.

The more Abe thought about it, the more he realised that he never really was friends with them in the first place. He was always a separate piece of their group that no one ever went out of their way to include. This realization worried him.

He wasn't even sure if he knew how to make friends. He started to think that he was missing something. Missing a certain set of social skills that everyone else had.

He wasnt shy or anything. Anyone who spent more than two minutes with abe knew he wasn’t shy. He just didn't know how to hold himself in front of people. He scared people off by being too loud or forceful, and he didn't know how to fix it.

Abe turned to the internet after a few months of going through high school friendless. Thats when he met Mihashi.

Abe and Mihashi are complete opposites. Abe is loud and logs on to skype with his microphone on and ready to talk to almost anyone, while mihashi answered every call using text. That was the only way Mihashi would talk to people. Anyone who tried to force him to turn on his microphone got ignored or hung up on. So Abe went along with it. Even though it made him feel vulnerable he still did it. They talked for a while. A painfully awkward conversation Abe was almost tempted to close out of 20 minutes in before Mihashi typed out a hesitant, “do you like baseball?” in the chat.

Abe’s heart stuttered and he gasped in the microphone on his desk.

“yes i love baseball!” he replied breathlessly.

Mihashi typed response came a few seconds later. “im a pitcher! Or at least i was…”

Abe quickly responded, speaking through the microphone, asking Mihashi why he wasn't a pitcher. 

His story was painful. A story of favouritism and bravely leaving the team of people who made every day of his life horrible. Mihashi explained his pitching abilities. Then Abe told him about his position as a catcher. They would fit so well together, if it weren't for the distance. Both of them missing one half and not having anyone who could possibly fill it.

The feeling that Abe felt as he talked to Mihashi was something completely different from when he talked to his old friends from school. The comfort Mihashi gave him was so different from spending the time with his past friends. Where he was constantly worried about being left behind. He still felt afraid of scaring Mihashi off, but that fear went away as time passed.

Abe, after about a week of talking, he managed to convince Mihashi to give him his phone number. The vibration of his phone in his pocket was a constant during school and if his parents noticed him going out less and being on his phone more they never said anything.

All skype calls were still done with Abe the only one with the microphone on. And anytime he tried to ask, Mihashi would make an excuse or change the subject before Abe could get a word in. Abe made it his goal get Mihashi to talk to him. There was nothing he wanted more at the moment than to hear Mihashi speak.

He scheduled a skype call for the weekend, planning it to be the day he finally drops the question. Mentally making sure to refuse Mihashi's attempts to create a diversion. He waited for the day in tense anticipation.

When the day finally arrived Abe prepared with everything he was going to say to Mihashi. He was almost tempted to write it all out for him, but just then the notification for a call went off. Abe jumped and answered the call with the audio on. Mihashi, kept his off.

Abe, figuring it was pointless to wait when the reaction would probably be extreme anyway, didn't hesitate to drop the question on Mihashi. He dropped it on him straight away and waited for the reply to come in. He asked Mihashi in a, hopefully, calm and collected voice, why he refused to turn on the microphone.

His reply came in a minute later.

“i dont like my voice…”

“neither do i, but i want to hear you speak” Abe replied.

“its different for me though…”

Abe waited for him to continue, figuring he should be patient and wait, and the next response came only a few seconds after.

“i stutter...”

Abe almost laughed when he read Mihashi’s reasoning and he quickly reassured Mihashi that he really didn’t care if he stuttered.

It took some time after he raised to question until Mihashi agreed. But as Mihashi set up his microphone Abe couldn't find it in himself to care.

The first noise he heard was a soft, exhale.

Mihashi’s voice was soothing. The stutters that Mihashi seemed to hate stopped him from speaking as loud or quickly as Abe. Sentences took twice as long for him to speak than they would for Abe. Despite this his voice was surprisingly comforting to listen to. Every exhale and inhale of breath, every small noise that came out, so soft and relaxing. All the fondness he felt for Mihashi all crashed down in front of him and suddenly he couldn't ignore it anymore. Couldn't ignore the soft smiles that Mihashi unintentionally dragged out of Abe. All the quiet noises and muffled sobs made every part of Abe hurt. Every part of Abe ache to comfort him. To erase all the things that made Mihashi hurt, all the things that make Mihashi struggle going through life. He wanted to wrap Mihashi up and protect him from the world.

Abe had to control how loud he spoke. His loud voice would make him stutter or yelp or make these pitiful whining noises. Mihashi told him a lot and Abe tried hard to encourage him to speak. He was quiet and interjected when Mihashi choked up while speaking. In all honesty Abe just wanted to keep Mihashi. Not let him leave like his past friends. He wanted to make sure that whatever he did to lose his previous friends, he never did to mihashi.

Abe still talked too loud sometimes and he still had a hard time keeping his temper down. They still managed to make it work somehow.

Since Mihashi finally turned on his microphone, it became a regular occurrence for them. Abe turned on his camera and his microphone for Mihashi. The first time Abe turned on the camera he did it as a surprise to Mihashi. The breath exhale of excitement he got from Mihashi made the hours he spent worrying beforehand worth it.

Abe tried not to push Mihashi to turn on the camera, he really did. But it was hard not to. It was hard to resist when every time he lay down to go to sleep or as he was doing math homework he would would think of what Mihashi's face could look like. He imagined he would be small. Imaged that the quakes and stutters would run through a small form. Abe wasnt capable of imagining MIhashi as anything other than small. Abe wondered if Mihashi blushed a lot. Or what the sobs, that Abe could sometimes hear coming from the other end of the skype call, would look like.

Abe tries so hard not to rush Mihashi or make him uncomfortable. Abe tries to control how often he makes Mihashi cry but its so hard to resist bringing the question up when Mihashi falls asleep during a call. Abe was talking when he asked a question only to receive no response. At first he the lack of response worried him until he heard the breaths through the microphone. The puffs of small exhales coming through his speakers without shudders or sobs to disrupt them.

Thats when the distance started to feel painful. Every mile away from Mihashi tore him apart. Every step to school felt painful. During every skype call he had to make sure to hold back tears. Or hold back the urge to fly all the way to where Mihashi was just to hear the small puffs of breath, not through a crappy laptop speaker but right in front of him. The agony it made him feel everytime he thought about the fact that Mihashi had no one to comfort him as he cried was unbearable.

He didn't bring it up with Mihashi for a month. A month that passed by in a blur of homework, school, and late night skype calls before he asked.

To be fair to himself it was late at night when he asked. Abe was tired, Mihashi was tired and Abe just couldn't hold it in anymore. Mihashi was making those content noises and Abe broke down.

Abe blurted out the question without warning. The resulting gasp in reply scared Abe. He suddenly felt bad for dropping it on him, and felt even worse as he heard mihashi’s light sobs through his laptop speakers. Abe apologized immediately only to get interrupted by Mihashi calling out his name. Abe looked up to his laptop screen to see Mihashi.

Abe’s felt like he couldn't breath and the giddiness took over and he laughed. Mihashi’s responding sob made him cut off.

“No, Mihashi i wasn't laughing at you...I'm just happy to see you.” Abe spoke hurriedly into the microphone.

Mihashi looked nothing like how Abe expected.

His hair, standing up in all directions, was a brown color. Not the brown color Abe expected though. His hair is the kind of brown that turned gold when illuminated by the brightness of his laptop screen in the dark. His hair seemed soft. If fell into Mihashi’s eyes and abe felt a deep urge to brush it out of his face. The only thing Abe got correct about Mihashi were his tendency to blush. His cheeks almost always stained red, and Abe felt triumphant realising how he managed to imagine that.

Mihashi’s eyes were what caught Abe’s attention. Abe never realised how beautiful brown eyes could be until Mihashi turned on his camera. His eyes were a lighter color than Abe’s, but that didn't stop the excitement filling Abe. He was giddy with happiness.


	2. Chapter 2

They talked after that for a few hours. They talked late into the night until Miashi fell asleep, his head laying on the keyboard of his computer. Abe ended the call after that whispering a good night to Mihashi for shutting his computer and laying down to go to bed.

Talking to Mihashi with the camera on became a regular occurrence. Mihashi still stuttered but he gradually grew less nervous around Abe. The idea that Abe saw a different side of Mihashi than anyone else made made him pleased with their progress.

It still took Abe awhile to finally see Mihashi smile. An actual smile. Not the nervous smile he did when he didn't know what to say, or the bitter smile that Abe sees every time Mihashi talks about his old teammates. The smile Abe was waiting for was a full smile. One that he finally saw after a few months of talking on skype. Mihashi had his camera on and Abe was telling him a story while eating dinner when suddenly a burst of laughter came through Abe’s speakers.

Abe stared at Mihashi in surprise. By the time Abe realised that Mihashi was laughing at the food left on his mouth Mihashi quieted down. His giggles hidden in the sleeve of his shirt as Abe stared at him. Abe smiled in return. Mihashi halted his laughter and told Abe goodnight before ending the call. 

Abe laid down for bed. His cheeks felt warm and his heart raced in his chest. This is when it all came crashing down. 

Abe was really good at lying to himself. Really good at telling himself nothing was wrong, really good at convincing himself that he didn't like Mihashi, really good at ignoring his feelings in favour for comfort. He ignored the things he felt and pushed them away. If he didn't do it this is what would happen. He would spend hours awake. Hours laying on his back on his bed and thinking about how all this would ruin things with Mihashi. Thinking about how hesitant Mihashi was to even talk to him, to let him see his face. THinking about how all this must be a sign that their relationship has a limit. A limit that Abe would pass trying to initiate anything.

Not only was Mihashi’s emotional state an issue, distance was one too. The hours away by plane made it impossible to even think of things being able to be normal. Obviously there was life after school.Life after the restriction of living with his parents. Abe could move wherever he wanted and could live near Mihashi if he really wanted to. But that was assuming they would even like each other that long. That was assuming that they didn't get annoyed with eachother by the time Abe finished his last years of school. That idea was seeming increasingly likely. 

Abe got no sleep. He stayed awake, staring up at the ceiling and listening to music loudly in his headphones hoping to block out his worries long enough to get at least an hour of sleep. It didnt work. 

He stood up and walked into the kitchen once his alarm went off, greeting his parents before grabbing breakfast. His parents eyes followed him as he opened the fridge. When he sat at the dinner table his mother reached across the table and placed her hand on his forehead. She sent him back to bed, and the doors slammed shut as both his parents left for work. Abe was alone. 

Surprisingly it only took Abe a few minutes to fall asleep. The sunlight lit up his room and Abe slowly drifted to sleep.

He woke up to the sound of the front door shutting. He jumped up and walked down stairs to see his mom sitting on the couch still in her work clothes. She smiled up at him when he walked in. 

“you’re not sick are you? Just didn’t get enough sleep?” she asked.

“no, im not sick. i just wasn’t able to fall asleep last night. “ Abe replied.

He had never been that close with his family. He loved them obviously, but he never really talked to them personally or seeked them out when something was wrong. So Abe was surprised with himself when, after his mom asked if he is having any problems, he told her everything. He started with dropping his friends. He told her all about meeting Mihashi. He told her about Mihashi’s anxiety and the months it took Able to get Mihashi to be comfortable with him. She listened intently, probably surprised Abe told her everything so willingly, and once Abe was finished he felt a lot better than before. All his stress seemed to be relieved and he wondered why he had never done this before.

His mother gave him advice. telling his to just talk it out with Mihashi just like Abe did with her. She even told him to text him if it will be easier to get it out that way. So Abe did. His restored confidence made the message slightly easier to send. He told Mihashi everything he told his mother and only hesitated over the send button for a few seconds before pressing it quickly. 

It took Mihashi two days to respond. Abe never felt more stressed out than he did in those two days. He couldn’t pay attention to anything in school and everything said to him had to be repeated twice. He checked his phone every few seconds. He sat on skype for hours at a time waiting for a call he lost hope would even come. 

When Mihashi finally responded Abe was at school. The vibration of his phone on his leg made him jump. He pulled his phone out quickly, hiding it behind his desk, only to see Mihashi sent him a huge block of text. The text was too long to answer during class, so Abe sat with tense anticipation for the last 15 minutes of class before shoving everything in his bag and running right as the bell rang. He ran through the hallways dodging students and teachers. It was his lunch period, so he ran straight to where he spent all his days during lunch and opening the message as soon as he sat down.

The message was long. There was no denying that. It was the longest message Mihashi had ever sent and that fact scared Abe slightly. Despite this he quickly scanned the message. 

Mihashi started the message by apologizing for taking so long to reply. He told Abe how he honestly felt scared. He wrote how he never thought of being in a relationship with Abe that way, or anyone that way, and the idea scared him. He told him about his fear with having friends. He told him how if they where to start this that Abe would have to deal with the ‘annoying’ parts of him. Mihashi told him about how he commonly had nightmares, how Abe will have to deal with the part of him that denies everything positive about him. How Abe will have to understand that Mihashi doesn't take well to affection, or that Abe would have to constantly remind him he wasn't a burden. How sometimes Mihashi won't be able to get out of bed and that Abe needs to know that.

The message ended with Mihashi saying that yes, he would love to be in a relationship, whatever that entailed, and that he was sorry for any worrying he caused Abe. 

Abe thought about all the things Mihashi considered flaws about himself. He thought about whether he could deal with this side of Mihashi that he never got through skype calls. He made up his mind after thinking about it for a few minutes. He wrote his reply quickly before running to his next class, his head clear for the first time in a while. 

They were in a relationship from that point on. Not much changed about how they interacted. The only difference was the amount of affection Abe showered MIhashi with and the fact he could do it freely. Mihashi was slightly more open. He sometimes called in the middle of the night because of nightmares, or called Abe multiple times during the day for reassurance he was still there. Besides that their actions around each other did not change. they still treated each other the same.

Abe’s mom was so ecstatic when he told her. She asked Abe hundreds of questions about Mihashi and how their relationship was going. The entire thing would usually exhaust Abe, make him regret telling her anything, but this time he was just happy to have someone to talk about it with. 

Abe and Mihashi kept talking for months. their relationship running smoothly. Sometimes Mihashi would get worried about Abe’s feeling about him, and it would take a few minutes to reassure him, but it was was rare and Abe knew how to deal with it. Abe learned how to take care of Mihashi. How to make sure he ate at the right times and how to make sure that he never fell into self loathing. Abe, admittedly, is a bit overbearing with Mihashi but they have an understanding. They know, after spending days talking about it, how to take care of each other. 

Abe’s birthday started to approach as the school year came to a close. Abe had neglected to tell Mihashi of this though. Abe didnt usually do much on his birthday and the possibility of Mihashi making a big deal out of it was not what he wanted. 

When he texted Mihasi the morning of his birthday he received no reply. Abe spent the whole day worrying about Mihashi. He was so anxious the entire day as his parents took him out to eat dinner at the restaurant of his choosing. Thirty minutes into their dinner, after Abe checked his phone again for any messages from Mihashi, his parents told him the news.

They said they planned this out for a while, speaking with Mihashi’s parents as well, and planned on it being a christmas present, but it ended up working out earlier. Abe looked at the in confusion. 

His parents slid a small slip of paper across the table and Abe took it. He let out a gasp of excitement when he realised what the piece of paper was. They were plane tickets. Abe’s heart sped up at the possibility of being able to see Mihashi and he had a hard time concentrating as his parents explained the situation. They told him how Mihashi brought up the idea to his parents and how his parents contacted them and how the plan unfolded from there. 

Abe suddenly got out of his chair and reached across the table to hug his parents. He whispered ‘Thanks’ in their ears and looked to his phone after letting them go. There was a text from Mihashi. 

“how did you like your birthday present?” The message from Mihashi said.

“I love it, but i can't believe you knew this the entire time.” Abe responded, smiling into his phone.

“It was really hard not to tell you! I had to stop talking to you today just so i wouldn’t accidentally tell you. It was important it was a surprise.” Mihashi answered a few seconds later.

Abe grinned, reading the message and replied by telling Mihashi he couldn’t wait to see him before going back to his dinner with his parents.

The rest of the dinner was calm. They talked about anything that came to mind, and Abe never felt more comfortable with his parents than in that moment.

Abe and Mihashi continued their calls leading up to the date that Abe would be flying to see Mihashi. Most of their conversations leading up to that day where slow. They were calm conversations mostly only meant to make each other less anxious of the upcoming occasion. Usually, they would just sit both doing homework or reading, the presence of each other the only reason that they even started the call. 

They would always fall asleep next to each other. They would wake up with the skype call still on and say goodbye as they both got ready for school. They built up this system as they waited for Abe’s flight.

On the night before Abe’s trip neither of them could sleep. They stayed up late into the night talking about all the things they plan to do when Abe gets there and imagining what it would be like to see each other after so long. 

They talked until they both fell asleep, in uncomfortable positions next to their computers, and they both woke up to each other. They talked for a few minutes before Abe had to get ready to leave. Abe dressed quickly, throwing comfortable clothing for the flight on before meeting his parents in the car.

They dropped him off at the airport, telling him where to go, and he waited the hour before he could board the plane. He talked to Mihashi the entire time. He told him how much time before he boarded his flight. He complained to Mihashi about the wait and Mihashi only replied with amusement. 

Abe was called to board the plane after an hour of painfully waiting. He nearly tripped in excitement on his way to the plane. The attendants led him to his seat and he shook in excitement as he waited for the plane to take flight. 

His lack of sleep finally took over a few minutes into his flight when he fell into a deep sleep. The sleep made the rest of the flight go faster, and by the time Abe woke up there was only a few minutes left. His heart leapt as the plane landed. He jumped up as soon as they allowed him too and was the first to run out of the plane. 

He went to collect his bags then texted Mihashi asking where to meet him. Mihashi answered to meet him outside and Abe walked out to where Mihashi led him. He stood outside scanning for Mihashi once he was outside. He spotted the messy hair of Mihashi’s in the crowd and ran to meet him. 

Mihashi stood in the center of a huge mass of people. He looked nervous and slightly giddy. his eyes flashed back and forth only to shoot up as Abe called his name. He smiled when he saw Abe. The same smile Abe saw for the first months before. He called Abe's name and walked closer. He seemed almost hesitant, and Abe had no time for that, so he pulled Mihashi in close. He hugged Mihashi breathing him in and putting every small detail to memory. He made sure to remember the way Mihashi's breath felt on his neck. or the way Mihashi pushed his nose into Abe’s chest, or the way Mihashi wound his arms around Abe's neck and how he pushed his fingers into Abe’s hair. 

Every small detail of Mihashi needed to be put to memory. He needed to remember the way this felt, because he never knows when he’ll be able to see Mihashi again. 

They stood like that for a few minutes. They just stood there enjoying their presence. When they pulled away Mihashi was still smiling with teary eyes. He pulled Abe away, dragging him behind him and pushing him into the back of a car. His parents were there to drive them back home. Abe answered questions they had for him, and as he was speaking he felt Mihashi’s hand interlock with his.

**Author's Note:**

> this took forever yeah  
> if you want to send me a prompt send it to pcket-monster on tumblr.  
> i take prompts for lots of fandoms  
> check my im-a-fox tumblr to see some of those fandoms  
> ok bye


End file.
